


The Elevator To You

by sapphicalexandra



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Trapped In Elevator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-20 09:35:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13714923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphicalexandra/pseuds/sapphicalexandra
Summary: Alec has been secretely crushing on his hot neighbor Jace for a while now, but he would never take the first step. When they end up stuck in an elevator together, though, things might just take a new turn...





	The Elevator To You

**Author's Note:**

> From the prompt "neighbours who have admired each other but not really taken that Step yet... stuck in an elevator". This should've been a drabble, but instead it kind of got away from me. Enjoy! ;)

Alec had never been more in a hurry; of _course_ he had to oversleep the day of his presentation! That was why, when he saw the elevator’s doors starting to shut, he simply _had_ to yell “Wait!” at the top of his lungs, hoping beyond hope that luck would be on his side this time.

It was. A hand swiftly came up between the doors, reopening them right as Alec reached them. Once inside, though, he was so busy catching his breath, hunched over with his hands on his knees, that only a few floors later did he notice who it was that had saved him.

But of _course_ , who could it be…and on the day that he was at his _worst_? His next-door neighbor, who Alec had been crushing on ever since he had first laid eyes on him.

Jace. Even his name was pretty.

“Oh, hey,” Alec started mumbling, “I hadn’t noticed it was you. Thanks, for earlier. I mean, I’m so very, _very_ late and not catching this elevator would’ve been…”

Jace was smiling warmly at him, which pretty much made Alec lose his trail of thought. Thankfully, Jace saved him once again, “Don’t worry, it’s no problem. What are you late fo–”

The elevator stopped, sending them both stumbling as the lights flickered shut.

“Oh no, oh no, today of all days!” Alec burst out, forcefully smashing his hand over the emergency button. Would there ever be an end to his bad luck?!

At least, a voice came through the speakers almost immediately. “Hello, what’s the emergency?”

“Yes, thank you, the elevator number three has stopped, me and one other person are stuck inside.”

There was a pause, then the voice spoke again, “Hold on, we will handle it as soon as possible.”

“Please hurry, I have an important meet–”

The connection was cut off, Alec suspected on purpose, so he let out a sound of frustration. Just _great_ , he could very well forget about arriving on time. Taking out his phone then, he sent a message to his boss explaining the situation. After that, he couldn’t do much else but lean back against the wall.

The dark and the silence were rather uncomfortable, he concluded, so he was about to say something to Jace to break the ice…when he realized something else was wrong. Where Jace’s head should’ve been, there was nothing, and only when Alec lowered his gaze could he make out Jace’s form.

Because Jace was on the floor, head between his knees, hands tangled in his hair. And now that Alec finally took notice of it, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t heard sooner that Jace was pretty much hyperventilating.

Panic settling in him, Alec fell on his knees in front of Jace, stretching his arms forward, stopping right before he touched Jace, since he was unsure whether that would’ve helped or not. “Hey, hey, Jace, it’s okay, it’s just a malfunction, we’ll be out of here soon…”

“I – I…” came Jace’s muffled stutter, “I don’t like…being trapped…in a small…”

 _Oh, god._ “Okay, okay, listen, just… _breathe_ , take deep breaths, I’m sure it’ll…”

“I’m doing that, but it’s not – _working_.”

 _Shit, shit_. Alec had no idea what else to do to help him, which he _desperately_ needed to do. Jace had always seemed such a cool, sunny person, so seeing him like that, trembling, with his voice so weak, worried Alec more than he could say. And the urge to wrap his arms around Jace, to give him _any_ kind of comfort, was so strong that Alec’s hands itched…but he still didn’t dare. “I – then think of something else…you were just fine before it stopped, right? So don’t think that we’re trapped, we’ve just stopped…indefinitely. But not permanently! Think about what you were about to do, where were you going? Are you meeting someone?”

Jace had raised his eyes, and was now looking at Alec as if he had grown two heads, at least that was what Alec thought. Damnit, this was _so_ not how Alec had imagined he would get to spend more time with Jace, and he hated that the circumstances were so dire. He should’ve been able to help him, instead of just embarrassing himself!

“Stop talking,” Jace even told him, and Alec was right about to rise and get as far away from Jace as possible, when Jace put a hand on his arm. “Can you just…h-hold me?”

Alec was stunned, his mouth hanging open as he stared wide-eyed at Jace. Had he heard that _right_?

Jace lowered his gaze again. “I’m sorry, I just…”

Alec didn’t let him finish, surging forward until both his arms were circling Jace’s curled-up form.

It was still _not_ the best circumstances, and Alec would’ve given anything to change them, but when Jace simply melted at the touch, holding onto him as if he was his lifeline, Alec couldn’t help but feel a warm tingle spread all throughout him. “It’s okay,” he murmured against Jace’s ear. “Everything will be okay.”

*

“I was _so_ embarrassed,” Jace was explaining, sounding genuinely pained, “there I was, completely freaked out over the most stupid thing, asking Alec to _cuddle_ me! When they finally fixed the elevator and we got out, I literally wanted to _die_.”

But his audience wasn’t very sympathetic of his pain, including Alec, who was all but laughing along with their unforgiving friends.

“Oh my god, that is _so_ adorable,” Izzy exclaimed through her laughter.

“No, it’s not!” Jace rebutted, outraged and very red in the face.

“Yes, it _is_ ,” Clary jumped in, the need to _aw_ clear in her voice.

“C’mon, Jace,” Alec finally chose to intervene, putting an arm around his boyfriend. “You were having a panic attack, and there’s _nothing_ embarrassing about that, like I’ve already _told_ you a million times. Plus, it’s not like I exactly _minded_ cuddling you, you know...”

“Sure you didn’t,” Jace said teasingly, finally dropping the act to smirk at him, elbowing him playfully in the side. Then, he rested his head against Alec’s shoulder. “My _hero_.”

“And so what?” Simon cut in as the laughter faded. “What happened next? Did you arrive in time at work?”

Jace scoffed. “As if. Nope, this idiot didn’t go to work at _all_. He first had a lot to say to the maintenance people, then he insisted that _I_ didn’t go anywhere either and accompanied me back to my apartment.”

 “No, you _didn’t_ , Alec!” Izzy said in disbelief, clearly surprised and in awe at Alec’s daring.

Alec rolled his eyes. “What? I couldn’t just leave Jace like that, and I didn’t do much anyway…”

“You big liar,” Jace said pointedly, telling the others, “he stayed with me _all_ day.”

More laughter followed that statement, and Alec had to admit that being at the receiving end wasn’t that pleasant, so he started pouting.

“I need to take notes!” Simon was saying animatedly. “How to seduce your crush. Step one, get them alone in a dangerous situation. Step two, be the dashing hero. Step three, take care of them after.”

Jace had started laughing too, but he stopped after he noticed Alec’s pout, leaning forward to quickly kiss it away. “Hey, I can’t say it doesn’t work, can I?” he teased.

“This is not fair, I didn’t do all that to seduce you.” Alec didn’t know why he was protesting so much, but he felt the need to defend his honor, somehow.

Kinda useless, as Jace’s face was still very close to his, his smile charmingly bright. “I know, babe.” And Jace’s lips were on his again, a far more lingering kiss than before. “But it’s not like you mind that you ended up doing that.” Jace winked, and Alec shoved him away as he burst out laughing.

“You’re terrible,” he told him with smirk, “but yeah, I surely don’t.”

“All _day_ ,” Simon was still talking, “and did you kiss at any point of it?”

Alec shared a look with Jace, and both of them smiled cryptically as they said at the same time, “Mmmmaybe,” which only caused another burst of laughter.

Surely, it hadn’t been what Alec had planned for that day. He ended up entirely losing the opportunity to do his presentation, following behind on a lot more work. Yet, he wouldn’t have had it any other way, because it couldn’t have ended more _perfectly_ , with an unexpected kiss on the lips and a plan for a date. And the rest, was history.


End file.
